Listen to hear the responses of 11 women who share their answer to the question, “What blessings have you seen in your life from following the invitations given by President Nelson since the last general conference?”

How to Listen 

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This week is the 2 year anniversary of the podcast. In March 2018, I hit publish on my first episode. I am so grateful to you for listening, whether this is the first episode you have heard, the 86th or somewhere in between. I do this podcast because of YOU and am so grateful for the ways you have enriched my life.

Today you get to hear from 11 women who called in and shared the blessings they have seen from following President Nelson’s invitations since the last general conference.

I am so grateful to Kristen, Shannon, Michelle, Emma, April, Erin, Sally, Rhonda, Melissa, Antonia and Kati for taking the time to think about their answer and call in to share.

I want you to remember as you hear the stories of these women who called in to share that you have a story to share too. You may not have the opportunity to share it on a podcast or a stage, but your story is still important.

Think about your own answer to the question: What blessings have you seen in your life from following the invitations given by President Nelson since the last general conference?

Find your answer and then act. Write your answer in your journal, share it with a friend through a phone call or a text, write a letter to someone you love and share it, share it on social media. It doesn’t matter how you share it, just do it.

If you don’t feel you have had an experience acting on President Nelson’s invitations, it’s not too late. Do it now. If you need a reminder of the invitations, listen to my last episode, number 85 or go to spirituallymindedmom.com to see the invitations in the show notes.

Thanks for listening and I hope you have an “unforgettable” experience watching and listening to the April 2020 general conference. 

Episode Links

Book Kristen mentioned – Women and the Priesthood by Sheri Dew
Watch the April 2020 General Conference

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Transcript

Intro: Welcome to episode 86. This is a very special episode because I get to share experiences from you, the listener.

Darla: Hi, this is Darla Trendler and welcome to Spiritually Minded Mom. My goal is to help you gain confidence in your ability to hear and follow God’s voice in motherhood and in life. Listen to hear interviews with all kinds of moms who are learning to navigate motherhood by partnering with our heavenly parents.

Darla: From the beginning of this podcast, I have wanted it to be about sharing women’s stories. Along the way, I have been able to share my own story, but my favorite thing is interviewing other women and having these listener call-in shows. It seems appropriate that this episode marks the two-year anniversary of the podcast. You, the listener, are the reason I do this. You have enriched my life so much and helped me to grow in ways I never could have imagined two years ago. 

Darla: I had 11 women call in to share their thoughts for this episode and I can’t wait for you to hear that next. I want you to remember as you hear the stories the listeners who called in are about to tell that you have a story to share too. You may not have the opportunity to share it on a podcast or a big stage, but your story is still important. Think about your own answer to the question these sisters answered. What blessings have you seen in your life from following the invitations given by President Nelson since the last general conference? Think of your answer and then act. Write your answer in your journal, share it with a friend through a phone call or a text, write a letter to someone you love and share it, share it on social media. It doesn’t matter how you share it, just do it. If you don’t feel like you have had an experience acting on President Nelson’s invitations, it’s not too late. Do it now. If you need a reminder of the invitations, listen to my last episode, number 84 or go to spirituallymindedmom.com to see the invitations in the show notes.   

Darla: Thank you to the women who called in. I was overwhelmed by the Spirit as I edited and heard their stories. They are all different and all so important, just as your story is important. Thank you for listening and now here are the experiences of Kristen, Shannon, Michelle, Emma, April, Erin, Sally, Rhonda, Melissa, Antonia and Kati.

Kristen: Hey Darla, this is Kristen Walker Smith calling you from Idaho. And I just wanted to share with you how I’ve been blessed by President Nelson’s challenge. So, he challenged us women to prayerfully study all of the troops that we could find about priesthood power. Specifically, he said, “As your understanding increases and as you exercise faith in the Lord and his priesthood power your ability to draw upon a spiritual treasure will increase.” Now I have been lazy, and I’ve been letting sister Sherry Dew do all of the heavy lifting on this one. I have been listening to her awesome book Women and the Priesthood and it has been one of the most empowering experiences of my life. Her insights have helped me to recognize just how needed I am as a woman in the church, and it’s helped me recognize what a powerful force for good in the church and in the world we women are and it has especially blessed me to recognize how blessed we are to be women with priesthood power resting upon us. I am just so grateful for President Nelson’s challenge and for Sister Dews inspiration that has changed how I view myself as a woman in the church and Darla, I just have to say thank you so much for doing this. It was kind of a kick in the pants to me to really think about how I’ve been blessed, and you are just wonderful. I’m so grateful for you, and I will talk to you later. Bye.

Shannon: Hi, my name is Shannon and I live in Henderson, Nevada. So, one of the first invitations that President Nelson gave us this last conference was to ponder on two questions related to The Book of Mormon. Why is the Book of Mormon of great worth to you? And what would your life be like without the Book of Mormon? As we began our Come Follow Me studies of the Book of Mormon earlier this year, I kept these questions in the back of my mind. One day as I studied 2nd Nephi chapter 28, I wrote these additional questions in my study journal. What are you going to do with the information and counsel you receive from the prophet and from personal revelation? And are you ready to receive more? I just had to try to list all the things that our prophet has counseled and challenged us to do to prepare for this coming General Conference, and I thought to myself the only way I can receive more is if I follow through with what the prophet has already counseled. I took some quiet moments to deeply ponder my feelings on the Book of Mormon. Why is it a great worth to me? The words that popped into my mind were power, love and belonging and then I began to write a list. Because I have the Book of Mormon in my life, I know that God keeps his promises. Because I have the Book of Mormon in my life. I know that he cares for and watches over and guides and has a deep abiding interest in his children then, now and always. Because I have the Book of Mormon, I know with his help I can overcome my weaknesses and become stronger than I could on my own. I know that Christ lived and he is my Savior. I know that God speaks to us. Because I have the Book of Mormon in my life, I know that we are his most important work, and he has a plan for us. I know that as we follow the prophet’s counsel and study the things he has asked of us as we can learn wisdom for “unto to him that receiveth, I will give more.” With conference around the corner there is certainty that more counsel will be given. I pray I can be as one who is built upon the rock in 2nd Nephi chapter 28 verse twenty-eight and receive it with gladness. Thanks, Darla.

Michelle: Hi, my name is Michelle and I’m calling from West Jordan, Utah. I’ve just been really prompted off as of late to just pray more and have that relationship with my heavenly father. I haven’t had as strong of a relationship with my heavenly father as I would like, but I feel like this is as good of time as any to get that relationship and to learn more about Christ and I I feel like this is a good time for me to really take a deeper look on my life and what I need to change and what I can do better at.  I’ve got four children and the ranges of age of fifteen down to 6, and I want to be able to teach them the gospel and I feel like through the last few months I have been just inspired to to teach them different things and we do pretty good with Come Follow Me, but sometimes we veer off and we do other things. it just kind of depends on what we’re feeling like that week what we need to be sharing and working with our kids. But I just feel like more than anything now, I know that our prophet President Nelson is called of God. Those things that he has said and those blessings that he has given us, it just solidifies to me that he is a prophet of God. He knows, he knows what’s in store for us and he’s telling us what we need to do. My family has drawn closer and as we’ve been spending a lot more time together being quarantined. We have been spending a lot more time together and just learning how to enjoy each other and we’ve been reading our scriptures more as a family and sharing just thoughts that we have. I just feel like our family is getting a lot closer to the unit because of this and for that I’m just grateful. I just feel like I’ve learned a lot and our family has grown closer, amidst all the commotion and chaos in the world. We have drawn closer as a family and we see the priorities and see what we need to be doing and what is important and that God is over all and he’s going to take care of us and He will bless us and we’ve seen those blessing and we know that he loves us.

Emma: Hi Darla, my name is Emma and I am from Utah and I’m so thankful that I could share a blessing that I received as I tried to follow President Nelson’s invitations from this last General Conference. I just wanted to start off by sharing a quote that goes with my experience and it was from his talk to the sisters. He said “The heavens are just as open to women who are endowed with God’s power flowing from their priesthood covenants as they are to the men who bear the priesthood. I pray that truth will register upon each of your hearts because I believe it will change your life. Sisters you have the right to draw liberally upon the Savior’s power to help your family and others you love. So, I wanted to share this experience I had with my oldest who was in her first semester at college in the fall and she’s been struggling with a professor. He was pretty inconsistent in a grading and just the class was just a lot of work for the level that it was and this child struggles with anxiety. And so she was having a lot of anxiety experiencing panic attacks and I had been Marco Poloing her and texting her and she hadn’t responded for a couple of days and so finally it was a Saturday, the Saturday before the first Sunday in November and she answered my Marco Polo but wouldn’t let me look at her. She just had her phone at the ceiling. And we cried and we talked about life and how sometimes life isn’t very fair, and I told her and reassured her that God knew who she was and that her parents loved her and that we would be willing to come and get her. We just wanted her to be safe and she ended deciding to stay there that night and promised she would attend church and so after I got off the phone with her I prayed, probably harder than any other time I had that when she attended church the next day that she would feel so overwhelmingly the love of God for her and that she would know that He was very much aware of her and very much aware of her struggles. After my daughter had that experience at church the next day, she called me and told me all about it. And I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that that prayer was answered, and it just reaffirmed to me that when we prepare and we study and we follow the counsel of the prophet, we will indeed be fulfilled liberally. We will be able to liberally have the power of the Savior in our life and know how to care for those we love. Thanks for letting me share this thought.

April: Hi, my name is April. I’m from Castle Rock, Colorado, and one specific blessing that has come to me in response to the invitations that President Nelson gave was to study Doctrine and Covenants section twenty-five over and over and over again, and one thing that touched me was that Emma had been given very specific instructions about things to do with her time and a little did she know that in 12 years she would be called to lead the Relief Society as the first president. So, I just felt so much peace knowing that the Lord knew both what she would need to do now with her time and what she would need to know and be prepared to do in the future for the service that she would get and I found myself studying about time and wondering what my next inspired step was. How should I best use of my time? Where was I idling away both my time and my talents. What could I be learning now that would preparing me for more opportunities to do good in the world around me? The answer didn’t come all at once yet day by day and month by month over the past six months, the Lord was piecing together a very clear answer for me about my next inspired step. and my answer became apparent to me one night at the end of the stake conference after all the talks and the songs and the prayers were over, I was speaking to a woman I had only recently met and very distinct revelation came for me about taking my next step and receiving an online Master’s degree to become a counselor. I had never thought about going back to school seriously and certainly not right now because I just found out the day before I am expecting our fourth child, but the pieces came together from all the times I had searched and studied and prayed especially thinking about and reading in Doctrine and Covenants twenty-five and the words the Lord gave to Emma and to me. I’m glad I acted on that prompting and I have found the assurance that this is my next inspired step. I just know that President Nelson’s a prophet. I’m grateful for inspired invitations. I’m excited for conference and further instructions to come and know that President Nelson is God’s prophet and that Jesus Christ stands at the head of his church today, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to accept these invitations and to draw nearer to God. Thank you.

Erin: Hi, my name is Erin and I am from Arizona. I’ve never been one who’s felt slighted because I don’t hold any priesthood authority. I’ve always felt that women and men have different God-given gifts and rules to assist in the Lord’s great work. So, when President Nelson said and our last General Conference, those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of God’s priesthood power by virtue of their covenant along with a gift of knowledge to know how to draw upon that power.” I was floored. Wait, What? How? I had to get to the temple as soon as possible. As I studied and prayed and attended the temple, I was astonished. All this time I had been missing so much. I immediately felt a change in me, a strength and assurance, a trust and a stronger faith. I’m continually humbled every time I study his priesthood power, and I know that I’m just getting the surface. I feel like my eyes have been open to something that has been here the whole time, but I just couldn’t see it. And I know that I’m not the only one and I’m so grateful for a prophet who has opened our eyes and allowed us to be able to see the greater things that are God has in store for us. 

Sally: This is Sally calling from Kaysville, Utah. My experience acting on President Nelson’s invitations has given me the confidence to seek answers from the Lord for myself. I’ve learned that he will teach me, and he wants to teach me which in turn has helped me to develop a closer relationship with him as my father. I learned more about his nature and how he feels about me which has been the greatest blessing of all. Thanks, Darla.

Rhonda: Hey Darla, this is Rhonda from Arizona. A blessing that has impacted my life is when I read a quote from President Nelson when he asked us to pray in the name of Christ. I always took that to mean to end my prayers in our Savior’s name, which I always have which is customary in our church to close our prayers that way. A couple of months ago and probably after about two months of feeling very sad and some may even say depressed, I knew I needed to find to my father for help. I was pretty much crumbling on the inside and nobody but my Father knew because I could fake it so well on the outside. While I was praying, I remembered something that was said at General Conference about not just calling the atonement the atonement but to call it what it is, the atonement of Jesus Christ. So, as I was praying that night, I asked my father and in the name of my savior and by the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, if he could heal me if he could take away my sorrow and pain. I told him that I knew he could, and I also told him that I knew he was the only one that could. I ended my prayer and I went to sleep half crying and half hoping my prayer would be heard. The next morning, I woke up and it was literally as if the fog had lifted. I felt peace in my heart and in my mind. I was amazed, but I wasn’t surprised by how quickly and to the extent in which my prayer was answered. I didn’t feel heavy anymore. I felt more like my normal self again, and I quickly said another prayer but this time it was one of gratitude. After some time, I’ve had I’ve been able to ponder this experience and none of the things in my life that were making me sad had changed but it was my ability to handle them and get through them was what changed and I know without a doubt that I was endowed with power from on high through the incredible gift of the atonement of Jesus Christ. And I also know now that there is more to praying in Christ’s name than just ending the prayer in his name. I honestly believe that Satan was doing everything in his power to make me feel so numb and hopeless that I couldn’t focus on the things that we’ve been asked to focus on to prepare for conference, and I know that there is opposition in all things but I am happy to say that Christ always wins.

Melissa: Hi, this is Melissa Buckley and I’m from Las Vegas, Nevada. I think the most poignant invitations for me have been to study the first vision and to ponder how I hear the voice of God in my life. as I’ve been pondering that I had a very powerful realization that President Nelson didn’t ask if I hear the voice of God, but he asked how I hear it and that became a very meaningful few months that I prepared and spent time each day pondering my experiences with his voice. At first, I expected that my answer would be singular. I often hear him speak to me using words. As I am a writer, it makes sense. He often helps me craft the messages I know he wants me to share with others, even a text message to a friend. Words are my thing and that made sense to me. And as I continue to ponder, I could not help but think of specific experiences I had over the course of my life and how those moments were varied and in how he spoke to me just as my senses are in hearing them. I’ve heard words spoken to my mind and heart. I have felt warmth comfort and love in my heavy heart giving me a joy beyond my own expressing emotions that words cannot articulate.  I have sensed relief in my body as I let go of pain or grief and giving it to Christ to carry. I’ve seen images of blessings he’s waiting to grant me if only I will take action and move forward almost as if he’s playing a scene from the movie of my life in my head. I’ve had music’s power penetrate my heart and with its words, harmonies and music speaking to my mind, heart and especially my soul. I’ve even felt a force in my body urging me to act to walk towards a friend in need or wanting me to go another way. In sacred moments, I have felt my body touched by what I imagined are ministering angels. I felt words come out of my mouth which could have only been directed by God to know what to say and how to say it. But most of all I’ve heard and felt God direct my life and speak to me in the way that I needed right then. Just as Joseph Smith needed both forgiveness for his sins and an answer to the burning question of which of the churches was right, I have sought many answers throughout my life and I have begun to see why each of Joseph’s accounts is different because of his current place in life and also why he sometimes struggled to know how to verbally explain the vision he experienced. Whether it was a pillar of fire or a pillar of light it was still a marvelous light for Joseph, and it was for him to know how to guide him in the work he had to do. One of the greatest blessings that President Nelson has given me is to remember the many times I have heard God’s voice and how it has urged me to keep a better record of those times as Joseph did. But the most powerful experience for me is to realize that even if I cannot describe these experiences to you or even my spouse, that He has spoken to me in a way that I need and way that I can hear and that He truly loves me as his daughter and ministers to me as He has always done to his children one by one.

Antonia: My name is Antonia and I’m from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. And I know it’s past the cut off and I apologize for that, but I felt prompted and just listened to your podcast to call. In studying Doctrine and Covenants section twenty-five, I felt strongly prompted to steady my patriarchal blessing. In doing so I came up with a plan. I printed off my patriarchal blessing and as I was sitting and going through any time a word popped out at me, I would write it down. After writing it down, I went through my patriarchal blessing and counted how many times each of those words were said, and from that, I knew that Heavenly Father’s will for me was very unique and different. Spiritual gifts were brought to my awareness that I had not seen or noticed before. I also took some of those words and looked up the definition in the 1828 dictionary as well as the Hebrew, Greek and Arabic definitions of these words, and I learned that some words that I had thought that one thing for me and in that circumstance or phrase in my patriarchal blessing really meant something else. I truly have been able to find peace and comfort and the things that my heavenly father desires for me. I’ve shared this with some close friends and with family and I’ve been able to see it bless their lives as they have felt prompted to go through their patriarchal blessing and study it in a very similar way. I’m so grateful for this invitation that our prophet has extended to us. I am looking forward to General Conference and the wisdom and peace that I will receive from there. And I know that the different things that he has asked us to do since October’s conference have prepared me and my family and those that I love to find peace in a very tumultuous time and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Kati: Hi Darla, this is Kati from California. And I just wanted to share that by answering President Nelson’s  call to prepare myself and my family for General Conference, I have had my eyes open to more possibilities than I could possibly have hoped for and my life has been changed as I’ve been taught by the spirit and learned more about God’s plan for me individually as well as God’s plan for my family. And I think the biggest thing is that I’ve learned how much God values me individually and I felt so strongly that he has had a plan specifically designed for me and my talents and experiences that I’ve had have prepared me for my work on this Earth specifically. I felt really excited and energized as I’ve wrestled with the scriptures and questions that I’ve had in my mind and I’ve been incredibly touched By God’s quiet yet firm guiding hand leading me to insight for my family and my personal life that I did not know I needed. I guess it really just comes down to the fact that I have become more familiar with God’s power through all of this and I’ve become more familiar with his love and his hope for me. And because of that my trust in Him has become very real and that’s really comforting. I often get really overwhelmed with all that I need to accomplish in life, all the things I need to take care of and fit into my life. But through his studies, I’ve learned to trust him more and more so much so that I’m able to more easily hand over the things that are weighing on my heart and really believing that His power is far more capable than my humble attempt at success and I felt that much stronger because of it, and I’m really grateful for a prophet who guides this church and that God speaks to him for our benefits and also your podcast is awesome. Okay. Bye.

Outro: I hope you enjoyed the podcast and if you did share it with a friend. I would love it if you would leave a review and rate it on Apple podcasts. This actually helps more moms to find the podcast and to gain confidence in their ability to hear and follow God’s voice in motherhood. For show notes, resources, and information about courses to help you be more spiritually minded, head over to spirituallymindedmom.com. For more motherhood inspiration. Follow along on Instagram @spirituallymindedmom. Have an amazing day and remember, you are a beloved daughter of heavenly parents who want you to succeed and who want to be your partner in motherhood.